Staying Curious podcast episode 013: At the intersection of fashion, technology and philanthropy
Join Staying Curious as we interview Jordana Guimarães, a sustainability advocate and Fashion Tech leader who believes we can do better, and that sustainability doesn’t have to be a lost cause within the fashion industry.
The fashion industry often struggles to balance sustainability with the demand for fast fashion.One company though has chosen to challenge the status quo by bringing together both technology, fashion and entrepreneurship so that they can make a positive impact on sustainability and diversity efforts collectively.
Jordana Guimarães, Co-founder of Fashinnovation
To discover more about the bridge of fashion and technology and how it can amplify sustainable and innovative voices in the industry, follow Jordana: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
Fashion + Innovation
Co-founded by Jordana Guimarães, Fashinnovation aims to help identify and foster growth between technology and fashion by connecting companies to fashion leaders. She believes that industry solutions arise out of networking, collaboration and entrepreneurship and that people have a huge role in contributing to sustainability efforts.
Gaining acceptance of this concept initially and continuing to educate folks on its importance has been no easy feat
though.
In general, industry outsiders don’t tend to understand how technology and fashion connect. They don’t “see” technology in the garments, and don’t always recognize the need that exists for this integration.
Jordana has found though that by focusing more on the person themself, facilitating more human-to-human interactions and providing free networking events, she can connect industry leaders, consumers and C-Suite executives so that meaningful conversations and exchanges can occur.
Through these interactions, the ecosystem of technology and fashion can co-exist, and present more opportunities for innovation.
Trending Technologies and Sustainability Practices
Three trending technologies Fashinnovation has seen include:
- Metaverse
The Metaverse used to be a pretty hot topic, but some leaders have been showing some skepticism lately. Whether it is from uncertainty about its future, or how to really integrate into the ecosystem—the Metaverse continues to have lots of uncertainty. - Artificial Intelligence (AI) for helping the consumer
This is the area seeing the most growth and application, from focusing on e-commerce, to personalization or improving the customer experience. From making it easier to find things, to providing highly customized recommendations, this aspect of the fashion technology sphere is really booming with opportunity.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) for improving diversity
This is a relatively new application of technology in the fashion space and involves some brands generating AI models for their garments. It can improve the diversity of models but has the potential to carefully curate a specific reality.
- Emphasis on Circularity.
Both small and large companies are starting to embrace the concept of circularity, wherein clothes are returned to the fashion eco-system instead of landfills, with reuse strategies being broadly implemented.
- Alternative fabrics and materials.
Some of the most cutting-edge materials or methods are finally starting to become more affordable. What used to be out of reach for small businesses or start-up's is now within reach.